Require
by ani
Summary: Serious injuries give Danny a rude awakening. His life is out to kill him. But there's one thing he can do, something he swore he never would. His random visits to Vlad have shown Danny how much he needs the other halfa. Vlad gets his greatest wish granted, Danny's chosen him. Now Vlad has to choose, is Danny his heir or his son? (Sequel to Refuge) *Father/Son fic, Alternate Canon*
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** here's the sequel some of you have asked for, and it's gonna be a multi-chapter! i love to buck troupes, sure this is a common storyline but i'm working alot of things differently. this chapter would have been longer but i fell in love with a robot sidekick and can't stop watching Geoff and Craig in YouTube.

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

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The wooden double doors snapped open once again, making the mayor jump this time. "Mr. Fenton, you really can't barge in like this." the secretary spoke from behind him. Danny stood in front of his desk ramrod straight, arms covered in bandages, fist clenched tight shaking in rage and pain. One look in those tear-filled _green_ eyes had Vlad on his feet, neither breaking eye contact. "Delilah cancel everything for today - the next three. Tell them it's important family issues."

"Yes sir," the brunette backed out of the room, closing the doors behind her.

"Daniel." Vlad's soft voice made him lower his head. Vlad walked around his desk, kneeling in front of Danny. "What happened, little badger?" he asked, confused at Danny's appearance.

He swallowed loudly. "Technus."

"Electrical burns," Vlad lightly held Danny's fingers, looking at the rough bandaging around his palms. "Any open wounds?"

Danny shook his head, "Some blisters on my elbows."

Vlad pulled up Danny's sleeves, seeing the bandages stopped mid-bicep. He couldn't help jumping at the wet spots forming on the carpet. "Danny?" Vlad's analytical voice turned soft.

"At least you asked." Danny raised his head, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. "They didn't even notice."

Vlad's jaw almost hit the floor. "How could they **not**? You can't hide wounds like these!"

"There were parts all over the table." Danny turned his head, trying to wipe his tears off on his shoulder. "D-Dad said he wanted enough force to break Ph-" he took a deep breath, "Phantom's… ribs. Mom said-Mom said she wanted Phantom's ghost-ghost core int-" Vlad put his fingers over Danny's lips as the teen swallowed hard.

"And the pain alone was making you nauseous." Vlad rose up on his knees, wrapping his arms around Danny's waist, pulling his close. "My dear boy."

Danny sniffled as he put his forehead on Vlad's shoulder. "I can't take it anymore. You have to get me out of there Vlad." he half-growled half-whimpered.

The older halfa couldn't help loosening his hold on Danny, surprised. "That could get them discredited, maybe even incarcerated. Is that really what you want Daniel?"

Danny nodded into Vlad's shoulder, barely getting his arms around Vlad's waist. "I can't go back there. Please don't make me go back there, Dad." the teen pleaded.

Vlad could barely bite back his smile as he pulled Danny closer. Even if it was a slip of the tongue just hearing Danny call him 'Dad' pushed his feelings into overprotective. "Never again, little badger. Never again." he whispered. Danny fell to his knees in relief as he cried.

Vlad hummed softly as he rubbed Danny's back, let his ghost core throb along with his heartbeat, hoping it'd help the teen relax. Danny huffed softly at the staticy tingle of Vlad's touch, how the very thing that hurt so much last night - still - could be so soothing now. Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he took a deep breath trying to pull himself together. "Daniel." he sat back as he felt Vlad's arms slide away. "We need to get your wounds checked out."

"What?" the young halfa sputtered as his elder stood, "But Vlad-"

"My personal physician knows about my 'condition', Danny." Vlad cut him off, offering his hand and smirking half-heartedly. "She knows you do not cross Vlad Masters."

Danny chuckled as he grabbed Vlad's wrist. "What's so scary about a fruit loop like you?"

Vlad quirked an eye, "You of all people should know what I'm capable of." he looked around the office, "This is all because of you, little badger."

"Don't remind me," Danny flinched as he pulled himself off the floor. Vlad put his left hand on Danny's shoulder, waiting for the pain to settle, the boy's facial expression to loosen a bit before leading him out the doorway. Vlad stopped in front of Delilah's desk, not even asking as she looked up from the appointment book. "Dr. Kingsley is on her way to the hospital and I've alerted the school about Mr. Fenton's absence. Should I call the authorities Mr. Mayor?"

Vlad smiled approvingly before turning to Danny. "No, that won't be necessary Delilah. The hospital will undoubtedly call them when they see young Daniel's condition. And his parents?"

The secretary jumped. "I assumed you'd have Mr. Fenton call them before you left for the hospital."

Vlad tensed up, ready to snap at her when Danny said, "No. Not yet… I just…" The pleading look in Danny's eyes stopped him.

The older halfa squeezed his shoulder and nodded softly. "Come on, son."

Not a word was said until Vlad parked at the hospital then Danny suddenly panicked. "What do we tell them? I can't tell them I was fighting the ghost when this happened!"

"Then don't." Vlad simply stated as he unbuckled them. "You were accosted by that psychopathic technophile and left unconscious in the alley. You woke up numb and disoriented so you went home and patched up as best you could."

Danny squared his shoulders as he looked the mayor in the eye. "When Mom and Dad didn't even notice this morning I went to Uncle Vlad for help."

Vlad nodded, squeezing Danny's shoulder once again before getting out of the car. He smiled at the older woman pushing a wheelchair his way. "I'm so grateful that you could find the time to help us out, Dr. Kingsley."

"Now Vlad, don't be so formal." she stopped at the back of the car, tucking a tawny curl of hair behind her ear. "Besides, your secretary said it's a delicate situation and since you seem to be fine that could only mean one thing."

Vlad's entire demeanor softened as he walked around the car, "Unfortunately." he opened the door, leaning in to help the young teen out. "Daniel," Vlad started the introductions as Danny walked to the wheelchair. "This is Dr. Sarah Kingsley. Doctor, this is Danny Fenton, the other person with that condition."

Dr. Kingsley helped Danny sit before kneeling in front of him. "A couple questions before we head in, Danny. Do you heal faster when human?"

"No." he shot Vlad a confused look over her shoulder.

The doctor leaned closer. "Any open wounds? Need for blood work?"

Danny shook his head slowly as Vlad stepped beside him. "It's electrical burns my dear. From Danny's description they may be second degree."

Dr. Kingsley smiled gently at Danny as she stood up, straightening out her slacks. "Sorry about that Danny, but anything said inside goes on file."

He jumped a little at that before hanging his head, nodding softly. Not liking the melancholy hanging around him, Vlad pat Danny's head twice, getting a halfhearted glare from the teen as they went inside.

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AN: fyi, there'll be more than Fenton-hate in this, a few other characters are gonna be ripped into a bit. i'm a hater not a basher. i don't make the characters i don't like OOC and universally hated on for no reason. i will show you why i hate within my storyline; either the plot itself reveals it or events make the other characters see what i hate about that one.

i've got a poll up for this fic's ending, so please cast your vote. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: sorry for the uber-long wait guys. i could give you a huge list of excuses but i told quite a few of the reviewers my problem with this one. i tried to rewrite it so it worked but i couldn't, so i stepped back for a while. four different fandoms tried to take it's place - one's lingering and another fic in here's trying to come back - so i went with what i had. hope this works for y'all.**

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"Tucker, there you are." Sam called out as she jogged down the hall.

"It **is **my locker Sam; I have a right to be here." The techno geek grumbled as he slammed it shut.

"Ha ha Tuck, so funny." Sam rolled her eyes before remembering why she was looking for him. "Have you seen Danny?"

Tucker shrugged, "Not since last night, why?"

"There's police officers at the principal's office!" Sam almost screamed, swinging her hands into the air.

"Come on, we gotta find out what's going on." Tucker added, spinning around only to run into Mr. Lancer.

"I'm glad I found you Mr. Foley, Miss Manson. Daniel is in the hospital, and since you'll sneak out of school to see him anyway, Jasmine has convinced the police officers to allow you to go along." The portly teacher said, turning around and leading the way. The teens just ran past him, sliding to a stop as Jazz turned away from the bearded officer.

"Jazz, what happened? What's going on?" Sam snapped out.

"Is Danny…" Tucker let it hang, knowing Jazz would understand.

The police officer spoke up before she could answer. "When was the last time each of you saw Danny?"

"Six thirty last night." Jazz went first. "I've got a big history paper due by Friday so I went straight to my room after dinner. I came to school early to do some more research."

"Danny and Tucker came over to my house about seven. We were watching movies until about nine." Sam embellished a bit.

Tucker nodded. "My house is only two blocks from Sam's. He just kept going down the street to his place. Why?"

The officer pulled a notepad out of his suit jacket. "Apparently Danny was attacked by a ghost last night. He's got second degree electrical burns down both arms, enough to knock him unconscious. Apparently, after he woke up Danny'd gone home and bandaged himself up. The doctor said that that big of a shock could have made him so disoriented that he'd do it and not remember. When your parents didn't react to his bandages this morning, Danny went to Mayor Masters for help."

"VLAD!" all three yelled before turning to each other.

"Why him? We could have helped!"

"He could have gone to the hospital on his own."

"Why him?"

"I can't believe your parents didn't notice!"

"I can."

"Why would you say that Miss Fenton?" the detective cut in.

"Mom and Dad get so wrapped up in their work they tend to forget us sometimes." Jazz calmly answered.

"You haven't been to their house yet, have you?" Tucker piped in, getting elbowed by Sam.

Jazz sighed, "You know our parents are ghost hunters, Detective Mahr, there's traps and weapons hidden all over the house."

"Can we go see Danny now?" Sam cut in before the questions went a little too far. Detective Mahr nodded, heading outside and missing the telling looks between the three.

Sam and Tucker held Jazz's hands as the police car headed through town, surprising them as it pulled up to the emergency doors. Before anyone could ask Detective Mahr stated, "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are being detained at the front desk by Child Protective Services. After Danny's story it's standard procedure to call them in."

Jazz reluctantly nodded when they got out of the car and were ushered inside. The teens stopped when they heard Mr. Fenton bellowing from eighty feet away. "But we love him! We'd never hurt our son!"

"Yeah right," Sam breathed out as Tucker put his hand on Jazz's shoulder. The usual hospital quiet was more than deafening as they blindly followed along, wondering how much had happened, what exactly they were getting into.

Stepping away from the elevators, they got a good idea.

Vlad stood at the nurse's station in his usual black suit talking to a woman his age wearing a doctor's coat over a dark blue pantsuit and a younger man in tan slacks and a tie. "The brain scans have all come back clear; fortunately the damage is localized in his arms. We'll have to test for peripheral nerve damage once they heal; otherwise I've got no problem with releasing Danny into Mayor Masters' care when he wakes up."

"'Wakes up'? What did you do to him?" Sam almost yelled, stomping up to Vlad.

"Jasmine, Samantha and Tucker, I'm surprised it's taken you this long." Vlad almost lost his calm veneer. "As for Daniel, his pain medication is making him drowsy. He's in Room 653 if you'd like to sit with him while I finish up here."

The other man stepped up, looking in the file he had. "Jasmine Fenton? Daniel's sister?" she blindly nodded. "I'm Jeremy Harmon from CPS. We'll need to talk later about this situation." he handed her his business card before turning back to the woman. "We should get the paperwork done as soon as possible, Dr. Kingsley, before the press hears about this."

The doctor turned to her left, "Of course, my office is this way gentlemen."

"Come on guys." Tucker stepped up, turning the girls around and started down the hall.

The pristine white room had a pale blue privacy curtain drawn so only a pair of beat-up red sneakers could be seen on the bed. "Danny?" Jazz softly asked as they all walked over to the bed, Jazz and Sam gasped as they stopped. Danny still had his jeans on; the sleeves of the hospital gown he wore were rolled up onto his shoulders. Wide strips of gauze were wrapped around and down his arms, smaller ones almost making fingerless gloves on his hands. There was a tightness around Danny's eyes even in his sleep. Jazz forced a smile as she sat at Danny's side, lightly holding his fingers.

"Why didn't he tell us about this?" Sam growled as she grabbed the footboard.

Tucker just stood there, clutching his PDA. "You heard the detective, Sam. The shock could have put him on autopilot. Danny could have woke up this morning and not remember how he even got hurt." Tucker turned to his best friend. "What I don't get is why Danny'd go to Vlad?"

"He has been for a while now." the smooth business tone made them jump, spin towards the door as Vlad walked in. "All he does is sit in the room with me for a few hours, nothing more. Daniel is always so relaxed when he leaves, though I have no idea why it's so soothing to him."

"It just is," Danny mumbled as he tried to get up. "Can we go now?"

Jazz was on her feet in seconds, gently pushing at his shoulder. "Danny, you-"

Vlad stepped around them, pulling Danny up by his shoulders. "Of course, son."

"What do you think you're doing?" Sam called out as she tried to shove Vlad away. "Danny's not going anywhere with you!"

Vlad slid his left arm down and across Danny's back, helping him turn. "The maids should have your rooms ready when we arrive, Daniel. It's a little small, but you'll find it huge, I'd imagine."

"Danny, you need to talk to Mom and Dad about this." Jazz started, grabbing his right shoulder and trying to turn him around. "I'm sure it was an accident. You don't need to take it this far."

He just watched as Vlad stepped back slightly, giving Sam a chance to get between them. "You've got Danny under some sort of spell or something, don't you?" the billionaire calmly unbuttoned his jacket and stepped around her.

Danny huffed as Vlad draped his suit coat across the teen's shoulders. "Small, yeah right. What is it, five or six rooms?"

Vlad sighed overdramatically. "Alas, it's only three. But then, this is one of my smaller homes."

The younger halfa nodded, lowering his head as the girls just kept talking and trying to get him and Vlad apart. Vlad put his hand on Danny's shoulder, squeezing slightly when Tucker realized it. "Hey man, you okay?"

All the others jumped, both halfas turning to him. "I'm not sure Tuck, between the pills and the cream they covered me with I really can't feel much." Danny yawned loudly. "And there's that."

Vlad smiled, putting his hand on Danny's head. "Try to stay awake until we get home, little badger. Dr. Kingsley has some instructions for us before we leave." Danny nodded again, flinching as he tried to stretch. Vlad just shook his head as Tucker let out a few chuckles.

"Tucker!" Sam whirled, swinging her arms at him. "Vlad's got Danny under his control somehow, we gotta save him."

Jazz was heading around the bed when the doctor walked in with a nurse pushing a wheelchair towards Danny. "This _is_ a hospital miss; if you can't keep your voice down I will call security." Dr. Kingsley coolly stated as she stopped in front of Sam.

"Listen lady-" Jazz slapped her hand over Sam's mouth. "Sam, let the doctor do her job. We can talk to Danny later." Jazz whispered as she pulled the goth out into the hallway. Tucker glanced at Danny before following them, Vlad gave him a slight nod as he closed the door.

He was jumped on as soon as he did. "Tucker! What were you DOINGin there? We have to save Danny!" Sam snapped at him.

Tucker got right in her face and glared. "What were YOU doing, Sam? We came here to see Danny and all you've done is yell at Vlad."

"He's right, Sam." Jazz pulled them apart, standing in from of the goth. "Getting Vlad to reveal his plans is not going to get Danny out of such a toxic environment."

Tucker huffed, folding his arms. "No wonder Danny was ignoring you guys. You're so focused on what you want that you're forgetting him."

"Hey!" both girls cried out. "Tucker, Danny running away like this isn't helping him at all. Extreme actions like this are more often harmful than not." Jazz stated, holding her hand out to the door. "What Danny needs to do is talk to Mom and Dad about this, realize it was all a simple mistake."

"A mistake?" Tucker growled. "What would you have done if you'd seen him come down for breakfast like this, Jazz?" the redhead froze at the thought. "How can you stand up for your parents when they didn't see how bad Danny was hurt?"

"They haven't been paying attention for years, Jazz." Sam added, sighing as she hung her head. "How come we didn't? Why would Vlad be the first person Danny'd go to?"

"Why is Danny's decision so surprising to all of you?" they jumped at Agent Harmon's voice.

Tucker turned around and answered, "Danny and I have been best friends since grade school, we made friends with Sam in middle school."

"Mr. Masters may have known our parents for twenty-five years, Mr. Harmon, but my brother and I only met him two years ago." Jazz said, turning her head to the left in thought. "I can't think of an incident that would lead to Danny making a personal connection this strong with Vlad."

"Interesting. According to Danny, it's been building from the day they met." Agent Harmon opened the file as the teens gawked. "He admitted that they didn't start off on the right foot, but as he got to know Mr. Masters, Danny realized they had a lot in common." Tucker nodded as Sam and Jazz turned to each other. "Danny said the biggest reason why was _because_ Mr. Masters knows your parents. He knows how embarrassing they can be, how annoying their obsession with ghosts can get. But most important was that Mr. Masters was never that bad, that he could stop studying ghosts and have an actual life."

"Danny saw the kind of life he wants in Vlad's." Tucker finished, watching as Sam and Jazz went back to being pissed and concerned.

They stepped back as the door opened, Dr. Kingsley pushing Danny out, his arms resting on the pillow in his lap. She just ignored the others as she pushed his chair down the hall. "I want you to apply the burn cream at least three times a day, a few more times if any tender spots develop." She stopped at the elevator, smiling as Vlad fell in step on Danny's right, holding his shoulder as Danny nodded. "I only gave you two more days of the pain medication, any over-the-counter medicine should be enough afterwards. Don't use your arms any more than necessary, and no school for the rest of the week, no gym for two weeks. Vlad's got the notes for the school."

"Danny, Mr. Masters, wait." the doctor and halfas turned to Agent Harmon as he rushed over, "I know it's not necessary, but it is mandatory that the house be inspected before the child can be released into custody."

Vlad nodded eloquently. "Of course, I can't have protocol avoided simply because of my office." The elevator ding snapped the other teens closer, everyone stepping inside as Vlad added, "Besides, I know how tedious paperwork is."

The adults chuckled and nodded. Agent Harmon turned to Danny, "Danny, CPS will be getting your things from Fenton Works later this afternoon. We'll need a list of anything important you'd like us to get as soon as you can."

"You don't need one, just take Tucker with you." The boys looked at each other, Tucker smiling as he turned to the man.

"Like I already said, Danny and I have been friends forever. I'll grab his gear while your guy grabs his clothes. We'll be out of there in no time." He added as the elevator stopped.

"Vladdie!"

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i can't believe i let the damn cliffy fairy in here. sorry. :(


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